Lush (26 page)
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and he pulled her onto him.
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“Thanks for listening. Now, I have some other ideas for how
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to spend this lovely evening.”
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W
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hat do you want to do today after your morning
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job?” He kissed her shoulder as they still lounged
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in her bed.
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“Hm. I was thinking of going to Seattle later. There’s a ware-
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house where I get some of my supplies. This is all quite boring
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to you, I’m sure, but I need some new dishes for my small plates
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menu.”
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“That doesn’t sound boring. Why don’t we have lunch over
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there too? I need to buy a birthday present for Ezra so maybe
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we can do that too.”
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“All right. That sounds like fun.”
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“I have a few other ideas. You know, for before you leave
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this morning.” He rolled on top and she smiled up at him.
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“Yeah?”
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“Oh. Yes.”
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He bent to lick across her nipples. Back and forth as she
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seemed to warm and melt against him. This was perfect. The
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time neither of them had to worry about what they did or how
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they did it.
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She wrapped her legs around him and held him to her as she
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arched into his mouth. Her nails dug into his shoulders and he
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knew she’d leave marks. He hoped so. He loved it when she left
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marks.
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“I don’t want to wait,” she murmured as he kissed down her
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ribs. “I want you in me.”
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He warred with his desire to taste her, to drive her up with
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his mouth, and to comply with her request, sliding deep into her
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body. It wasn’t as if either plan had any drawbacks.
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He groaned as she slid her hands up his sides, scoring her nails
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over his ribs, sending shivers through him. “Now.” Demanding.
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She reached down, grabbing his cock. “In me.”
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“Once you scratch the surface you’re a horny, demanding,
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cock- hungry woman.”
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She laughed. “Don’t tell anyone. You’ll blow my cover.”
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He fumbled until he got suited up and lined his cock at her
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gate, pressing in so slow, beads of sweat popped out on his fore-
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head. He had to rein it in before he thrust. He wanted to take
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it slow. Wanted to tease.
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“You’re like the best all- you- can- eat buffet ever. I want to
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gorge and gorge. So I have to make myself taste slowly. Here.”
28S
He kissed her mouth and she sighed into his. “And here.” He
29N
made his way to her throat. She arched, giving him the line of
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her neck, offering herself to him, and he didn’t try to stop. He
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tasted the softness of her skin. The salt of her warmth. Her
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scent was strong at the hollow of her throat and he breathed
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deep. Wanting to hold her there inside himself.
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She was physically small, but against him she was strong.
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Vibrant. Her muscles fl exed as she moved to meet his thrusts. He
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kissed over her freckles. Across her cheeks, over her shoulder.
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Outside it had begun to rain and the sound seemed to make
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music in between the gasps and groans. There were no words
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just then. Just sensation and the sound of the rain on the roof.
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Her hands landed on his ass as she dug her fi ngers in, hold-
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ing on. She hitched her thighs higher and he shifted, grabbing
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her thighs and sliding his hands back to her knees.
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Her eyes rolled up as she groaned as his fi ngertips stroked the
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skin at the back of her knee. She was fl exible enough that once
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he levered up a little he could shift her, turning his head to lick 16
where his fi ngers were.
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She moaned rather loudly and his cock throbbed in response.
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Throbbed in time with the frantic beat of his heart.
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He grabbed her hand, moving it to her pussy. She kept his
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gaze as she slowly began to circle her clit with her middle fi nger.
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She tightened around him. Each time he thrust deep, she
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squeezed. He wanted more. Wanted this to never ever end. But
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it would. Sooner rather than later. He began to hurtle down that
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one- way street. Climax dug into his fl esh, into his heart and
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body with sharp claws.
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He knew she wasn’t far either. Her cunt superheated, slicked
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up as little earthquakes of her inner muscles began to echo
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through her pussy. He bit her thigh just to the side of her knee
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and she cried out, clamping down around his cock until he
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nearly saw stars.
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With a gust of breath, her name a tortured sound on his lips,
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he joined her, thrusting until he had to fall to the side, her legs 05
still tangled with his body.
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“I think I might last until after lunch now.”
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She laughed, sliding her fi ngers through his hair.
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“Hey, you fi nally fi xed this back door. It’s about time.” Daisy
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strolled in and tossed herself onto Mary’s couch.
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“Why, good evening to you too.”
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“I’m hungry. Take pity on me.”
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Mary rolled her eyes. “Don’t you have a boyfriend? Also I
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just brought you a huge bag of food yesterday.”
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Daisy laughed. “I know and it was all very good. But said
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boyfriend took a lot of it to work for his lunch. He gave me a
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very sad story about how nowhere in town makes food as good
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as yours and how it helps him get through the afternoon. He
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even gave me the eyes and then he made me come and I forgot
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why I should even say no. He’s got a magic penis. I’m powerless
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against it.”
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Mary choked out a laugh and couldn’t stop. Soon she had to
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sit down next to Daisy, who’d begun laughing along with her.
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This went on for some time until she could fi nally breathe again.
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“Wonder if there’s a twelve- step for that. My name is Daisy
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Huerta and I’m a Levi- holic. Hi, Daisy.”
28S
“Ha! But then I’d have to want to be cured and I don’t. But
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he did eat all your food and I could make a peanut butter sand-
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wich or some soup. But you live right here and you have deli-
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cious food and I haven’t seen you in a few days, so really, look
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at all those birds I killed with that one stone. Also, ew, I don’t
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like that saying. I don’t want to throw rocks at birds. See what
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being hungry does to me?”
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“Good lord, you’re a mess.” She kissed Daisy’s cheek and
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stood. “Yes, my door is fi xed. Damien fi xed it and the window
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too. I’ve got
carnitas
. Want some with rice and beans?”
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“I’m sure that was a rhetorical question as the answer would
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never be anything but yes.”
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As much as she teased, she did love it when her friends and
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family showed up wanting to be fed. It was her way of taking
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care of them. Their way of letting her do it.
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“There’s tea, juice, beer, milk. There might be more; you’ll
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have to check the fridge.”
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She got to work putting together a plate.
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“Have you eaten yet?”
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“I ate earlier. I just got home from a job about twenty min-
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utes ago.”
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“When did Damien go back to Oregon?” Daisy poured them
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both a glass of red wine and she clinked her glass to Mary’s
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once she handed it over. “Cheers.”
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“He left this morning.” It had been a good visit. She’d learned
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a lot about him. He’d listened to her stories, asked questions.
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Helped her when she’d needed it and backed off when she didn’t.
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“When do you see him again?”
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“He wants me to come down to visit him there. He said he
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wanted me to cater an event so if he hired me, I could spare the
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time.”
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Daisy laughed. “Well, certainly that job would be way more
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fun than most. I’m just guessing, by the way, that you aren’t
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nailing all your other clients after you make them dinner.”
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“I’ll never tell.” She slid the plate into the oven to heat. “Be
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ready in a few.”
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“So . . . how are things? I mean, this is more than a fl ing,
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obviously. He totally digs you. That much is clear for anyone
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with eyes. He also did repair work, hello. That’s a true sign.”
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She sighed and took a gulp of her wine. She told Daisy about
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the conversation she and Damien had had. About how he wanted
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to move things into relationship territory but that she was con-
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cerned.
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“I admit, I was worried for a bit. At fi rst when it was just a
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one- off I was like,
whoo
, get some, girl! And then later it was 15
more than that and I didn’t know if he was good enough for
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you. I certainly knew from what I’d seen online that he had a
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reputation. But I’ve gotten to know him a little and I gotta say,
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I like him. I like how he treats you. I like how he looks at you. I 19
like that he fi xed your broken stuff. I don’t like that he lives in 20
another state. What would I do without you if you moved? But
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that’s selfi sh. I know I’ve spent more time with Levi lately and
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less with you. I miss you a lot. But I want you to be happy. I want 23
you to fi nd something real, and if that means you live four hours
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away, that means I’ll drive down to see you all the time.”
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“Don’t go getting ahead of yourself. I don’t know. I really
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don’t. I hate his lifestyle. Not all of it of course. He’s close with 27
his family. He works hard. He values the same things I do. But,
28S
you know I look at Gillian and all the stuff she has to deal with,
29N
and I already got a call about a single picture someone took.
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I don’t want that. I don’t want to hear from women who fucked
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him before me. I’m not cut out for that stuff. I’m not thick-
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skinned enough for that.”
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“So end it.”
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“He brought me salt. As a present. Flower of Bali and Fleur
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de Sel.” That had sent her reeling.
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“This is a good thing?”
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“Yes. Don’t you see? He didn’t buy me diamonds. He bought
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me salt that’s sort of hard to fi nd. Salt I’d love to use because I 09
